Wei Wang, the secretary general of the Beijing organising committee, claimed he had not been given figures from the Office of Public Security before, after a series of questions on human rights, finally allowing his frustrations to show.

“After 30 years of reform China has developed greatly,” he said. “People enjoy more freedom. People are living a good life. Everyone is happy. That’s a fact.

“Of course there are exceptions, like in any other country. But they need to take the legal process and procedures to resolve any issues. We cannot allow this country to be in chaos.

“But there are a few people who have come here to peek, to be critical, to dig into the small details and find fault,” he added. “This does not mean that we are not fulfilling our promises [over human rights to the IOC]. The whole country can see how can China has developed; how China has genuinely welcomed the world to enjoy everything with us.”

Shortly after awarding the Olympics to Beijing in 2001, the IOC president Jacques Rogge claimed he hoped that hosting the Olympics would improve China’s human rights record - but Wei today denied that his country had made any such promises.

“I did not promise that China would promise to do whatever with the Games in China, I did not say that,” he said. “I think the Games will open up the horizon about China. People will see better what China is about.”